Stories from Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Dorene Gladys Yedinak, 93, of Exeter, passed away Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014, in her home. She was born on May 13, 1921, at Mound City, to William Simpson and Helen Josephine (Medearis) White. On May 21, 1941, at Maryville, she married Bill Lynch and to this union seven children were born. ...

Bobby R. "Bob" Wills, 83, of Washburn, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in Cassville Health and Rehabilitation Center, where he had been for six days. He was born Jan. 4, 1931, in Eldorado, Okla., the son of Luther W. and Eva (Freeman) Wills, who preceded him in death. Also preceding him in death were one brother, Lewis Wills and one sister, Imogene Wilkison...

Brock Thompson Pettit, 72, of West Fork, Ark., passed away Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014, at Circle of Life in Springdale, Ark. He was born Jan. 14, 1942, in Huntsville, Tenn., the son of Oscar and Ella Pettit. He was united in marriage to Mary (Fedorciw) Littrell. He later married Linda Beard, who preceded him in death. Also preceding him in death were his parents and brothers and sisters...

Ukiah James Myers, 3 and a half month old son of Casey Myers, passed away Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born April 5, 2014, in Aurora. No services are scheduled at this time. Cremation arrangements are under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville...

Mary J. Krallman, 70, of Cassville, passed away Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014, at Lacoba Nursing Home in Monett. She was born May 29, 1944, in Elkland, the daughter of Gordon E. and Dorothy (Phillips) Pinkley. On Dec. 3, 1965, in Aurora, she was united in marriage to Martin Eugene "Buck" Krallman, who preceded her in death on Sept. 13, 2000. Also preceding her in death were her parents...

Buford Dencil Ball, 91, of Eagle Rock, passed away Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, at the home of his son, Gary Ball, in Exeter. He was born Nov. 13, 1922, at home in Eagle Rock, the son of Eldon and Eva (Prier) Ball. On June 12, 1944, in Berryville, Ark., he was united in marriage to Marzelle Jackson, who preceded him in death on May 15, 2000. Also preceding him in death were his parents and two sisters, Novetta and Ruby...

Lance Parnell, Cassville head football coach, is excited for Cassville to host its first Cassville Football Alumni Night, which will be Friday at 7 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium. Check-in will be at the north end zone from 5:45-6:15 p.m., and alumni may watch the game from the north end zone, complete with food and drinks. At about 6:35, alumni will be recognized on the field...

A total of 80 golfers took part in the Hillbilly Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce. Contributed photo

Neal Stanley, the vice president of Seligman Chamber of Commerce, leads a train dance Thursday evening in Seligman while Classic Country sings "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash. Jason Johnston reporter@cassville-democrat.com

On Aug. 20, Missouri Department of Transportation workers repaved Main Street between East Ninth and 11th streets in Cassville. They guided traffic onto one lane while the crews made the repairs. Jason Johnston cassville-democrat.com

The Hoppers sing gospel music Saturday evening in the Crowder College Cassville Campus community building. Pictured, from left, are: Kim Hopper, Dean Hopper, Karlye Hopper, Connie Hopper, Claude Hopper and Mike Hopper (not pictured), who travel across the U.S. and the world playing gospel music. Jason Johnston reporter@cassville-democrat.com...

Legislators representing Barry County were on hand last week at the CenturyLink Eggs and Issues Breakfast, held at the Barry County Museum. Topics discussed included: The upcoming veto session in September, the state budget and the announced closure of the Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon. ...

ABOVE: Following their August meeting, members of the Purdy school board viewed the completed hallway with satisfaction. The final phase of the project involves installation of decorative metal panels on the gym entrance exterior and interior vestibule. ...

A Springfield woman was injured in a wreck on Highway 248 early Saturday morning, 10 miles east of Cassville. Allison Stuart, 31, of Springfield, was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer when her vehicle ran off the roadway, struck a culvert and burned. Stuart was subsequently arrested for driving while under the influence...

For the second time in less than a week, three cars were involved in a wreck on Highway 37 in Purdy. According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mynor Lopez, 30, of Purdy, in a 1996 Honda Accord, and Michelle Scrivner, 21, of Mount Vernon, in a 2010 KIA Sportage SUV, were driving northbound on Highway 37...

School opened with a few wrinkles at the Purdy School District. Superintendent Steven Chancellor said the first late-start Mondays and changing the lunch schedule offered the two biggest changes. The school day now starts at 8:15 a.m., 15 minutes earlier, and lets out at 3:15 p.m., five minutes later than before. ...

The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Christopher Collings, upholding a death penalty conviction in the 2007 rape and murder of a 9-year-old Stella Girl. Collings, 39, was convicted for the crimes against Rowan Ford, and he appealed his death penalty sentence on the grounds that confessing to a police officer he knew, photographs of Rowan shown in court and some physical evidence was not relevant to the case...

The city of Seligman over the past was recently forced to flush its water lines after construction workers at the site of the new Walmart jarred the lines, knocking loose sediment and making the water dirty. Brian Nichols, city clerk for Seligman, said crews working at the Walmart site had been using a fire hydrant with a 4-inch line to draw water out to compact the site's foundation...

Roaring River State Park recently promoted one of its employees to assistant park manager. Cheyne Matzenbacher, 32, previously worked as an interpretive specialist at the park before he was hired to the new position. "I am excited about the new opportunity, and I feel like I am getting a chance to make a difference for the park and the community," he said. "The position will bring some new challenges, but that is expected with any new job."...

A 60-year-old man Reeds Spring man is facing four felony charges after allegedly burglarizing a home on Kings Cross Lane in Golden. Lewis Coker, 60, of Reeds Spring, is facing charges of first-degree burglary, a class B felony; stealing, a class C felony; and two counts of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, class C felonies. ...

Staff and residents at Red Rose Health and Rehab in Cassville took the "Ice Bucket Challenge" Friday, supporting efforts to fight the degenerative neuro-muscular disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The Challenge has prompted many celebrities and individuals to either donate $100 or dump a bucket of ice water over their heads and donate $10. ...

The Cassville School District passed a $4 million bond resolution in April, and 90 percent of the work associated with the issue has now been completed. Dusty Reed, director of facilities and operations for the Cassville School District, said the only projects remaining include: ground source work in the middle school, the sidewalk from the Rock Gym to the intermediate school, middle school bleachers, high school gym and Rock Gym air conditioning units and adding a security fence at the middle school.. ...

The assessed valuation for each school district increased this year to allow for more property tax revenue in the districts' incidental and debt service funds. Each district determines its tax rate by dividing the amount of revenue needed by the current assessed valuation. The result is multiplied by 100. The tax rate is expressed in cents per $100...

The Barry County Sheriff's Office in upcoming weeks will receive 15 more AR-15 rifles from a program garnering national attention after protests in Ferguson led to riots. After Darren Wilson, Ferguson police officer, shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, many Ferguson-area residents poured out into the street to protest...

Seligman's businesses and its leaders are reacting favorably to a Walmart Express coming into town. "We are all ecstatic about it," said Joanie Hornback, the morning manager at Ruby's. "We're happy that the community is thriving. It's going to be a good thing for Seligman."...

According to a release from Cassville School District Superintendent Richard Asbill, a disruption occurred at one of the district's building offices Wednesday morning. Asbill said in a letter the disruption was handled and the person or persons involved left the building. He said there were reports the school went into lock-down, but he said that was not the case and all students were safe...

For 12 seasons, Steve Voyak has guided the Lady Trojans volleyball team through thick and thin. Last year, Southwest amassed a 26-5-2 record and won the Ozark 7 Conference before getting upset in the district semifinal. This year, the goal is to repeat last season's success and side-step the district hiccup...

Even though they haven't rang at Wildcat football games for almost four years, there is a movement in the Cassville community to bring back the cowbell to Friday nights. According to Steve Reid, a life-long Wildcat supporter, the ringing tradition dates back over 50 years...

The test for the young gridiron Wildcats continues this week as they welcome the Mountain Grove Panthers, the No. 6 ranked team in Class 3, to Cassville on Friday. "They're good," said Lance Parnell, Cassville head coach. "They have two good linemen, a good quarterback and a talented running back. We are going to be tested."...

AURORA -- The Cassville football team's win over Aurora Friday may have been by more than three scores, but at the end of the game, it was the Wildcats' defense getting all the credit. Only allowing Aurora across the 50 yard line once, with less than five minutes in the game, Cassville put on a stifling defensive performance that left the Houn Dawgs digging for a bone...